I was saying to myself that there was little hope I would be able in the darkness to see a target, when suddenly a light so bright as to be almost blinding flashed up seemingly from the very mouth of the cave, showing in bold relief the forms of four villains at the edge of the thicket, and on the instant Giles and I both fired. It seemed to me that I heard the reports of a dozen muskets; flashes of flame sprang up here and there near at hand as if by magic, and amid the rattle of musketry could be heard Master Bartlett’s voice, as he shouted: “At them, lads! Smite front and rear! Finish the job now, else we may not get another chance!” Then that happened which absolutely frightened me for the moment, and but for the fact that I realized how necessary it was we strike a heavy blow, I might have faltered. Here, there, and everywhere that the rustling or swaying of the bushes told some person was forcing his way through, a ball of fire sped through the air in that direction, and then flared out a burning flash which illumined the thicket for a dozen paces around. I believed I understood the cause of the first light, when we emptied our weapons; but it was more than bewildering to see those fiery messengers seemingly pursuing our enemies, although I was not so dazed but that it was possible for me to strike more than one telling blow, thanks to the friendly fire. All this while muskets were being discharged from the cave, and I said to myself that Stephen Morley was firing as rapidly as loaded pieces could be thrust into his hands, and even as the thought came I ran plump into him twenty paces from the entrance. At this moment such of the savages as yet remained alive set up a yell of terror, and the sound of their footsteps told that they were racing at full speed down the mountainside, intent only on escaping from those mysterious flames. “It is all over for this night, lads,” Master Bartlett called from somewhere amid the darkness, “and now I’d like to know the meaning of all I’ve seen.” CHAPTER XVI. ELIAS SHENDLE’S PLAN Master Bartlett was not the only member of our party eager to learn the meaning of what we had seen. As for myself, I was far too bewildered to reply when Master Morley asked me where we first saw the enemy; but stood staring in open-mouthed astonishment as if he could see me, or I him, while the darkness seemed all the more intense because of those blinding flashes which had dazzled our eyes. “How was it done?” Master Bartlett demanded, as he came up to where Stephen Morley and I stood, fifteen or twenty paces from the entrance to the cave. “It wasn’t a bad kind of an idea, eh?” Master Morley cried, as he indulged in a hearty laugh, “and the joke of it is that you came near getting scared as badly as did those precious sneaks, who won’t stop running till they are with their fellow brutes. I’d give quite a little to hear what kind of a story they’ll tell.”